The Space Between by Scott J Robinson

isn't an
option. Either run or fight."
    Douglas glanced at the creatures then back
at Kim. He gave a small nod and picked up a sword from near his
feet.
    "Get some weapons," Kim called to nobody in
particular. She cleared her throat to try again, but the men heard.
They turned to look at her though none did as she suggested. "So
all this is just a game?" She gestured around at the tents and the
weapons. "You're just like little boys playing cowboys and Indians
in the back yard? Get some God damned weapons and help those
people."
    Finally, they started to move.
    "Beware. Fire in the hole."
    Kim almost hit herself in the head with the
mace as she covered her ears. "Come on."
    One of the armored figures, blue and green
with rusting rivets, was heading towards the cannons, plodding
along as if it had all the time in the world. Kim headed for it,
shoulders hunched as she ran, angling across in front of it as it
started to raise its weapon.
    "Slow as hell," she muttered to herself.
    "What?" Douglas was just behind her,
rattling along like a shopping trolley full of empty cans.
    "These bastards are slow."
    Her arm was already starting to ache from
the weight of the mace, but as she got closer she stood up straight
and raised the weapon. Her target was swiveling slowly to meet her
but wouldn't be quick enough. Its arm bucked slightly as it fired
an experimental shot in her direction. It missed, but Kim still
felt the hairs on her arm stand on end. He mouth was instantly dry
again.
    "Electricity," Douglas said before she had
the chance.
    She thought he sounded very calm for a man
dressed as a human lightning rod.
    Kim swung her mace with all her might,
aiming for a seam in the center of the chest. Her hand shuddered so
hard she almost dropped the weapon.
    Momentum carried her past as Douglas hit the
same area a moment later. Keeble, just a second behind, swung his
huge axe at the back of their enemy's knee. Kim spun, trying to
ignore everything else. She had enough problems. It felt as if her
hand was still shaking. Her arms felt like they were going to drop
off. She heaved the mace up and swung. The armored figure was
trying to turn to face them, and the mace crashed into the
faceplate. She heard a crack, pulled the weapon free and swung
again. A moment later, as she tried to get the mace up off the
ground once more, Douglas pushed past and rammed his sword into the
hole she'd created.
    The armor stopped moving.
    "Is it dead?" Kim gasped. She went to have a
look through the hole as Douglas reefed his sword free. "Shit.
Shit, shit, shit." Whatever was in there wasn't human. Its face was
a mess of exposed flesh, thick, dark red blood, and splinters of
bone, but there was no way anyone could ever think it was a human
face.
    Kim almost threw up.
    "What is it?" Douglas asked.
    She wiped her face. "I have no idea." And it
wasn't the time to be worrying about it. Kim tried to put it from
her mind and looked around. She knew that if she thought about it
she'd be no use to anyone.
    Keeble had already moved on and was working
at the knee and shoulder of one of the creatures like a madman,
swinging his axe as if he could do it all day. Kim hefted her mace
with a grunt and went to help.
    Warriors swarmed around her, mainly carrying
a mixture of swords and maces. One man had a huge war hammer, and
there were two others with flails. Suddenly in a real battle, the
men fought with none of the melodrama of earlier in the day. They
swung their weapons with grim, wide-eyed determination or a
half-wild frenzy. They died in a number of realistic ways.
    Kim gritted her teeth and tried to ignore
what was happening around her. The men probably would've lived if
she hadn't insulted them. They would have run into the trees to
hide like sensible people. But others would have died — women,
children, damsels. She stopped thinking about it and concentrated
on the one creature in front of her, with its slow movements and
deadly arm. Just one creature. Just one